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About Rich Copley & Copious Notes

Raised by opera-loving parents in a rock ’n’ roll world, Rich Copley has parlayed his broad interests into his career writing about arts and entertainment. Since 1998, he has covered performing arts, film and faith-based popular culture for the Lexington Herald-Leader, the daily newspaper in Lexington, Ky. It’s a pretty broad beat, but Rich delights in finding influences of the past in the present and showing fine arts fans the value of pop culture, and vice versa. ~ Copious Notes is a blog covering that broad spectrum. If you want to read about specific areas of interest, such as theater or opera, click on one of the categories to the right and you will be whisked away to all posts in that category. Also, look around the blog for links; multimedia items such as photo albums, videos, and interviews with artists; and other nuggets. Have fun, and thanks for dropping in.
The header for this blog was designed by Danny Kelly and the illustration was drawn by Camille Weber.

Christian music update: Addison Road review

Funny thing about bands that enjoy head-turning grassroots success before they ink deals with major labels: They usually turn out to be fairly regular folks, and not the kind of people who would impress record company executives as the next rock stars. Look at Hootie and the Blowfish, the Dave Matthews Band or, in the genre of which we currently speak, the David Crowder Band, Caedmon's Call and Casting Crowns. Not rock stars from central casting, but musicians who have an amiable stage presence and a way with a tune.

Addison Road fits right in with that m-o. The band formed in 2001 when Jenny and Ryan Simmons -- not married then, but married now -- got a gig before they even had a band. So, the then-Baylor students put together a group that has since morphed a bit over the years, dropped three indie releases and now has a major label debut on INO Records -- which brought you more unassuming stars in MercyMe. The self-titled album is a solid effort of pop rock that is at its best when it is speaking in the plainest terms. What Do I Know of Holy is a prime example, with Jenny singing about a relationship with God that often seems difficult, awkward and unreal. It's introspective writing from the Nichole Nordeman school. Casualties is a catchy and thought-provoking piece about people losing their personal and spiritual relationships to our go-go American culture. The current hit single, All That I Know, may a bit misleading giving folks the impression Addison Road is cut from the Krystal Meyers and Fireflight rocker-chic mold. But Ryan Gregg and Ryan Simmons Beatle-esque guitar flourishes hint at the greater picture, which is a real diversity of material for debut album.

Then again, these folks have been working on this record for a while.

Out today: P.O.D.'s When Angels & Serpents Dance is in stores, online, and everyone else seems to be staying away from the week like it was the release of a new Spider-Man movie. We'll have a review of the Boys from the South next week.

Coming soon: The labels are already whetting our appetites for upcoming releases. Third Day's Revelation, the Georgia band's first album since its two-disc greatest hits package, is set to release July 29 with production by Howard Benson, whose credits include Daughtry, P.O.D. and Flyleaf. And some of those acts showed up on Third Day's new saucer, including Flyleaf's Lacey Mosley for two tunes and Chris Daughtry on one. Overall, they're promising a grittier, Southern rock sound. Family Force 5, also hailing from the Atlanta area, is slated for a late summer release also, though we don't have an album name or date yet. It'll be an interesting release for FF5, which was voted artist of the year by CCM Magazine readers and then greeted two months later with a page full of letters to the editor denouncing the band's look and message -- or perceived lack thereof. It'll be interesting to see if a new release offers anything to satiate the band's detractors.

Got VBS crafts?: This isn't Christian pop related, but I figure some of you may have some ideas for this: Our Faith & Values editor is looking for great Vacation Bible School crafts for a feature later this spring. If you have an unusual
craft that others might be interested in, please let us know. Briefly
describe the project including the materials involved, the
age-appropriateness, how long it takes to create and the end-result. You can e-mail that to me, and I'll send it along to the right person. Thanks, and we can't wait to hear about cherry Jello Red Seas and stuff.

In it's third edition, Questapalooza attracted 6,500 people to Quest Community Church in Lexington, Ky., on Aug. 31, 2008. The music lineup was Kirk Franklin, Kutless and needtobreathe. In addition to the tunes, festival goers enjoyed carnival attractions, contests, heard a sermon and witnessed baptisms.

The 2008 Ichthus Festival was a roller coaster ride. The week started with the first project by Ichthus Ministries' environmental initiative: ECOS (Earth Commission, Operation Simplify). Then there was the severe thunderstorm June 9 that leveled 14 out of 19 tents at the festival site, with only two days left to open. And it did open, earlier than ever with a Thursday morning battle of the bands. That was followed by one of the hottest Ichthus days ever, and we aren't just talking about Skillet's set the night of June 12. The next day was Friday the 13th, and it turned out to be unlucky for the fest, with thunderstorms scuttling the evening lineup. But as it often has, Ichthus rallied with a fun and worshipful Saturday. The Herald-Leader crew was out there all week. Here's our photo album.

May 19 to 29, 2008, the University of Kentucky Wind Ensemble is taking a trip to China, where it is scheduled to play six concerts and visit seven cities. The tour finds China eagerly anticipating the 2008 Summer Olympics while also mourning the loss of tens of thousands of its citizens to a devastating earthquake on May 12. This photo album begins with images taken by the Herald-Leader's Whitney Waters at event's leading up to the ensemble's departure.

Actors Guild of Lexington's early spring production is Tom Stoppard's brainy drama, Arcadia. The show is a mystery over several centuries involving math, science and literature. Here's a look at some images from the show, which runs through April 6 at the Downtown Arts Center, by Herald-Leader photographer Charles Bertram. The photos are copyrighted by the Herald-Leader.

After years of going to -- excuse us while we clear our throats -- Louisville, Winter Jam finally came to Kentucky's true big house, Rupp Arena, March 6, 2008. That gave Lexington a heaping helping of MercyMe, BarlowGirl and Skillet, as well as others. This is a little record of the event.

The University of Kentucky Opera Theatre is presenting its production of Engelbert Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel" through March 8, 2008 at the Lexington Opera House. To give more students a shot at the stage, and for the sake of the singers' voices, two casts were fielded for this production. University of Kentucky photographer Tim Collins shot both casts. Here's a selection of those images.

Lexington Native Amber Rhodes is a budding country star, shopping a hit independent release around the country, hoping to land a recording contract with a major label. To take a peek into the life of an aspiring country star, and to see how much work it is, I went down to Nashville to spend a day with Amber, as she works to get her name out there. Here are some pictures from that trip. All photos are copyrighted by the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Between June 21 and Aug. 2, eight new plays or musicals opened in the immediate Lexington area. That was an extraordinary number of shows for a summer in the Bluegrass State. Here, we offer a photo album from behind the scenes and on stage.

On April 29, 2007, Lexington native Laura Bell Bundy realized her dream of creating a role in a Broadway musical when she took the stage of New York's Palace Theatre playing Elle Woods in 'Legally Blonde.' It's a goal she'd been working toward since age 10, when she played monstrous child star Tina Denmark in the Off Broadway hit 'Ruthless.' Her 'Legally Blonde' performance earned Bundy a Tony Award nomination for best leading actress in a musical. Over the years, Herald-Leader photographers have chronicled Bundy's career. These are some of their best shots, along with a few other photos.

Stephanie Pistello graduated from Lafayette High School and Transylvania University. She went to New York to pursue an acting career, but returned in August 2006 with her New Mummer Group to present Tennessee Williams' "Candles to the Sun" at Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Since 1999, the Herald-Leader has previewed the Lexington Shakespeare Festival with profiles and environmental portraits of the actors or directors involved in each show. This is a gallery of those fantastic images.